


The Land of Light

by VanessaDaelemans



Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanessaDaelemans/pseuds/VanessaDaelemans
Summary: This is a rough draft of something I hope to really polish up and make into a full novel. So character names, world building, and even the title are all subject to change. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to ask question, give feedback, etc :)





	The Land of Light

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rough draft of something I hope to really polish up and make into a full novel. So character names, world building, and even the title are all subject to change. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to ask question, give feedback, etc :)

Chapter 1: Red and Gold

Daya had never seen a human venture into The Moore - let alone return time and time again. The first instance began like any other scouting mission: she was stationed near the Western Valley, beneath a canopy of yellow leaves, perched atop a large tree stump. On a usual watch she would patrol the sector, but every shift she’d had so far in her first month as a royal scout had been uneventful. And her feet deserved a break. She had begun to shave down a chunk of wood to pass the time - she’d thought about making it into a dagger, though she already had plenty. Maybe it would make a nice pendant. She was torn from her work by a loud bang. 

“Hello?” There was no reply. 

Rising to her feet, Daya set down her wood and carving knife and readied her hand on her bow. She let her curiosity guide her through the trees, ignoring the nagging voice telling her to call for backup. 

Overlooking the valley, the forest in which she stood felt minuscule. The Moore stretched for miles, with a rainbow of treetops sprinkled throughout the hills. From the Western Valley and onward a heavy fog blanketed the ground. Any human would be mad to journey through it, as those who tried to often never came back. 

When she finally spotted the man, the first thing that struck her was just how close he was: only a few hundred yards down into the valley. The second was his age - he couldn't have been much older than she was, though from the distance it was difficult to tell. Finally her eyes settled on what appeared to be a long metal tube gripped in his arms, aimed at the sky. The end was smoking. There was little wildlife around him; even the trees looked fearful. Daya had been told that humans might wander into The Moore. Most were smart enough to avoid it altogether - this man was obviously not one of the smart ones. What she had not been told was how to deal with them. Keeping her hand on her bow, she watched carefully as the man stumbled about, tripping on invisible roots and pointing his metal tube at trees and shrubs. 

“His mind will take care of him for me,” Daya muttered. 

Nearly an hour passed; the sun glowed a soft orange. The man had woven his way back to the far side of the valley. In the tall shadows of the trees, Daya could hardly make out his shape any longer. Her shift coming to an end, she gave up her post and journeyed home, without a word to her replacement, and without a second thought about the man.

But a month later, carving knife and wood in hand (now resembling a 5 pointed star) Daya saw the man once again wandering the grassy paths of the Western Valley. He no longer carried his large metal tube. Instead, he had with him a pad of paper and a pen. The delirium was also absent. He knelt beside bushes and craned his head up into the treetops, taking notes and observing, sometimes sitting on the ground, simply staring at the world around him. Daya didn’t know what to make of it. His behavior was unlike any human she’d ever heard of; he was so peaceful.  
After the second sighting, Daya made sure she took as many watches by the Western Valley as she could, each time inching further and further into the valley. The man continued to visit with his paper and pen. Some days he sat for hours, others he spent writing frantically. Daya wondered if he ever made illustrations of his surroundings, as she often did herself. 

One late afternoon, with the sun nearly set, and the remaining 20 minutes of her shift to spare, Daya set her plans into motion. She knew it was stupid, and probably dangerous. She knew one wrong move and she might be dead. But she knew she had to try. Down the sloping side of the valley, she made her way swiftly through the trees, farther than she’d ever strayed from her post. The man had been sitting by a small stream, one of the many that flowed through the valley. Inching closer, Daya knew she couldn’t remain unseen for much longer. She emerged from the trees, bow at the ready.

“Who are you and why are you here?” She said, trying her best to sound intimidating.

The man startled from where he sat, almost falling over into the stream. Once stable, he looked up, eyes wide.

“I--I mean no harm! I’m not going to hurt you, I swear.” He slowly started to rise to his feet. “I only wish to study the properties of this land.”

Daya stared at him. His words were foreign to her, but she could sense his fear. 

“I’m truly, truly sorry if I disturbed you. I can leave, if you--”

“How did you not give in to madness?” Daya interrupted.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I’m not from around here, well, that’s probably obvious…” 

“You are not mad. How? How. Are. You. Not. Mad?” She spoke slowly, though she wasn’t hopeful he would answer.

“You know what, you seem pretty upset, so, uh, maybe I can go with you? Maybe as a prisoner? I don’t quite know how that would work over here,” He had his hands up in front of his chest, eyes darting to and from Daya’s arrow, “I don’t really know how anything works over here, that’s why I came. To study your magic and maybe learn something from it.”

And there it was, a word Daya finally recognized: magic. 

“Did you say ‘magic’?” she asked.

“Uh, magic, yes, what about magic?” He said, lowering his hands a bit, “Do you know anything about magic? I mean, not that you could really communicate it to me but-”

“Leave. Don’t come back. Now! Before I decide to feed you to the wolves.” Daya tightened her grip on her bow and jabbed it towards him. “GO!”

The man, confused and startled once again, stumbled back, and though not understanding her words knew well enough what she was telling him. He hastily gathered his pad of paper and pen from the ground near the stream and sprinted back towards the edge of The Moore. Daya lowered her bow. She looked around - the wildlife seemed to resume its course as if not a living soul had touched it. The stream bubbled happily, crickets began their evening songs, the glow of fireflies could be seen in the twilight. And another glow, Daya now noticed, emanated from something on the ground not too far from where the man had left. She crouched down to examine it: a small flower, glowing red. Daya had come across her fair share of glowing flowers, but none like this one. It shimmered and spilled golden sparks that singed the grass. Picking it up, she felt a slight sizzling sensation, and quickly deposited it into her pack to avoid burning. 

“The Princess will enjoy this,” she said to herself.

She stood, brushed off, and started the long trek out of The Moore.

* * * * *

“And he just ran off?”

“Like a frightened cat”

“How strange. I wonder where he found this.” 

The flower lay on the floor between them, still glowing red and gold. The two of them kneeled beside each other, their heads nearly touching from how far they were leaning over it. 

“Princess, if a human has found his way through the mist little short of a dozen times, we must be on our guard,” Daya said, “surely there will be more to follow.” 

“I’ve never seen anything like it - have you?”

“Princess-”

“I can always tell when something is touched by light, but this,”

“Princess!”

“It’s simply brimming with magic -”

“Seraphine! You must listen to me! This human could be a threat to all of Valoma,” Daya paused, unsure whether or not she had just crossed a line, “and as your friend I want you to be prepared.”

Seraphine looked up from the flower. “Daya, you know better than I do how strong our defences are. If this human really is a threat to us, I have full faith that we will be protected. Besides, this one ran away like a frightened cat.” She picked up the flower and held it close to her face. “What he was doing with something like this, though... Oh!” She dropped the flower, her fingertips reddened. 

“I told you it was hot,” Daya said, holding back a laugh.

“You think I can’t handle it? Watch.” Seraphine stared down at the flower, her brow furrowed in concentration. She mumbled a few words to herself, then, holding her breath, picked up the flower once again. It sizzled when she touched it but after a moment the red glow subsided to a pure gold. The petals shimmered in the light.

“You see?” Seraphine said with a grin, “I know what I’m doing.”

Daya looked at her wide eyed and smiled. “Since when could you do that?” she asked.

“I’ve been practicing,” Seraphine said. “You know, Daya, you could try, if you’d like.”

“I… I don’t know,” Daya said, shifting her weight, “I’m not nearly as good as you are.”

“But you’ll never know unless you try!” Seraphine urged, “Please? Just try?”

Daya swallowed. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Seraphine set down the flower and looked up to her friend encouragingly. “You can do this.”

Daya looked at the flower, took a deep breath, and gingerly picked it up. The golden shimmers sparked and spat. The red glow returned, brighter and brighter, casting harsh shadows on her face.

“Concentrate,” Seraphine said, “Think about what you want to happen, but don’t rush it! You’ve got to be gentle, but make sure you’re assertive! And remember to-”

“You’re not helping!”

Daya scrunched her face. Her hands trembled. The flower glowed nearly white, spewing sparks into the air. Daya let out a yelp and dropped the flower. It singed the floor.

“Daya! Your hands -” Seraphine pulled Daya’s hands towards her. They were bright red and blistered. “Oh my- I…I can fix this. Wait here.” She stood and ran out of the room. Daya cradled her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. Moments later Daya heard quick footsteps coming towards the room. Seraphine rushed to her, holding a small jar.

“Here, take this.” She scooped out a large glob of green goo from the jar and smeared it hastily onto Daya’s hands. “This should help with the blistering. It’ll sting a bit. ”

“A bit?” Daya grimaced, though soon enough the pain reduced to a dull throb.

“I’m so sorry, Daya. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t pressured you into-”

“It’s okay,” Daya said quietly, “It's okay, I’ll be fine, see? That green stuff works pretty well.” She held out her hands. The blisters had nearly subsided, leaving her palms bumpy and red. 

“Will you still be able to use your bow?” Seraphine asked.

“Me? Not being able to use a bow? Maybe I’ll sprout wings, too!” The two girls laughed. 

Seraphine looked down to the red and gold flower. “I should probably bring this to the conservatory for safe keeping.”

“You’re really not worried about that human, are you?”

Seraphine frowned. “To be quite honest, I don’t really understand why we must hate them so much. The one you met, out on The Moore, he didn’t even try to hurt you. He was studying magic - how is that a threat?”

“Princess… The humans would do anything to get through our barrier, anything to get their hands on power,” Daya said, looking down at her burn. “That’s all they care about.” 

“Maybe you’re right… But what if this human is different? I mean, who am I to judge him before I’ve even met him?”

“Seraphine, I know where you’re going with this. You know you’re not allowed!” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Seraphine said, grinning.

“Imagine the trouble you’d get into! That I would get into!” Daya continued.

“Well not if we don’t get caught!” Seraphine said, still grinning.

Daya sighed then smiled. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I.” 

Seraphine stood, bouncing on her toes. “So you’ll take me? You really are the best friend a princess could ask for. When can we go?”


End file.
